Letters to the Editor, Aug. 17

Regarding “Race, class collide in prosecution of cell phone theft” (Aug. 15): Thanks to Karen de Sá for her excellent article, which put a human face on LaSonya Wells, a formerly incarcerated, homeless black woman who has been struggling to survive in San Francisco against enormous odds.

The California Coalition for Women Prisoners has worked with Wells, and we know that she deserves to be represented as more than just a tragic example of San Francisco’s extreme racial disparity when it comes to arrests of black women. A recent study from the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice in 2015 revealed that black women make up 6 percent of San Francisco’s female population but constitute nearly half of all female arrests in the city.

San Francisco’s Working Group on Alternatives to Incarceration, which the coalition is part of, is trying to come up with programs that can give women like Wells a chance to access housing, health care, supportive programs and employment — the building blocks that can keep people out of jail and make successful re-entry possible. The city’s legal system can lock LaSonya Wells away for years over a cell phone, or it can demonstrate a genuine commitment to alternatives and give her a real chance at rehabilitation and change.

Diana Block, San Francisco

Fair ruling

Regarding “Race, class collide in prosecuting theft of cell phone theft”: Retired Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge LaDoris Cordell interjects her opinion that the original charge was “ridiculous.” She clearly is accusing the district attorney of racial bias when she says “prosecutors pile on charges and then push for plea bargains, especially when it comes to black and brown defendants.” She goes on to say, “My guess is it was charged because of who the victim is in this case, and if that is true that’s pretty sad, because that’s just an abuse of the system.”

Although it is true that the decision to file a charge should be based only on the facts of the case, for someone of the stature of Judge Cordell it seems a bit reckless to “guess” when making such a significant charge regarding the conduct of the D.A. Public Defender Yali Corea-Levy, on the other hand, says “the judge in her case needs to know her history to make a fair ruling.” In order to make a fair ruling on the merits of the case, shouldn’t the judge rely solely on facts and not on the personal history of either the defendant or the victim?

Terry Mullen, Danville

Flexible streets

The possibility of transforming Stockton Street into a pedestrian-transit mall is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for San Francisco. By prioritizing people in what is currently an area overrun with dangerous noisy traffic, we have the chance to do what cities across the country and the world have been doing for decades: Return our streets to safe, beautiful places through pedestrianization.

San Francisco is way behind the times on this and needs to catch up. Rose Pak and others, don’t worry; city streets are remarkably flexible. Traffic will find other routes, just like it did after the Embarcadero Freeway was removed. Union Square and, yes, Chinatown too will become even more desirable places to visit and shop.

Adam Greenfield, San Francisco

Poor rationale

In response to “Reform failures” (Letters, Aug. 15): The writer pines for the 1950s and ’60s, when schools in California were apparently the nation’s best. The writer places complete blame on teachers unions for our current state of schools. I find the writer’s rationale quite similar to Donald Trump’s slogan of “Make America great again.”

In the ’50s and ’60s, schools in California were essentially segregated even after the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Brown vs. Board of Education. This was a time when a teacher could be fired and harassed simply because of the length of his hair or for having a child out of wedlock. Apparently, many Californians just can’t wait to say “You’re fired” even in a profession that is so understaffed, overworked and underpaid.

Max Celaya, San Lorenzo

Competitive salary

“Reform failures” indicates a rather shallow understanding of the public schools in this country. The writer seems to believe that the main problem of education is the teachers unions. However, the strongest unions exist in Finland, which has one of the best, if not the best, educational systems in the world. The writer, apparently, thinks that the main problem is inefficient teachers, whereas the biggest problems are poverty, teenage parents and the lack of two parents or role models in the family.

Most teachers work so hard, grading papers and planning lessons for hours after the school day is over, as well as using their own money for materials for their students. If people in this country want a top-notch educational system, they might want to consider offering a salary that is competitive with other professions.

Gretchen Hayes, Oakland

Statewide shortage

Regarding “School opens in S.F. a few teachers short” (Aug. 16): In an article on the teacher shortage in the Bay Area, it was noted that eight San Francisco teachers who have resigned from the San Francisco Unified School District “will be reported to the Commission (on Teacher Credentialing) for review” and possible sanction because they have violated their contracts by resigning.

What was not noted in the article is that SFUSD Superintendent Richard Carranza will also be violating his contract when he departs from SFUSD at the end of August to become the superintendent of Houston schools. While we wish Superintendent Carranza well and are not suggesting that he, too, be reported to the commission, we do question the double standard.

Based on our information, and as previously reported in The Chronicle, many teachers are leaving San Francisco because they cannot afford to stay here. We encourage SFUSD to allow teachers the same treatment and respect being shown to the superintendent and other departing administrators by putting a moratorium in place on all such reports to the commission.